


"Eye Of The Tiger"

by prodigalpoet



Category: Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins Movies), Killing Eve (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Based On Silence Of The Lambs Movie, F/F, F/M, Jodie Foster Supremacy, Konstantin Is Publisher And Editor At Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Niko Is A Cat In This, Role Reversal, The Only FBI Agent We Accept
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:42:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26330578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prodigalpoet/pseuds/prodigalpoet
Summary: FBI agent-in-training Villanelle Astankova receives an assignment from her boss, Carolyn Martens, involving Dr. Eve Park, forensic psychiatrist and serial killer serving nine consecutive life sentences in a mental institution.
Relationships: Eve Polastri/Villanelle | Oksana Astankova
Comments: 30
Kudos: 70





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The story will be based on Silence of the Lambs but may also diverge from it. I've never written anything like this before so bear with me. Depictions of violence might pop up later due to the context. If this isn't your thing, feel free to skip over this! 
> 
> Dr. Eve Park - based on the Hannibal character
> 
> Villanelle Astankova - based on the Clarice Starling character

Location: FBI Field Office, 3311 East Carson Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15203 

Time: 3:53PM

Villanelle sighs and places her elbows on her cluttered desk, resting her forehead against her upturned palms for a few seconds before her door flies open with a loud knock.

"Villanelle, big boss has an assignment for you," Bill Pargraves barks out, snapping Villanelle out of her attempt to rest for a few seconds.

Villanelle stands up and nods, acknowledging the statement, before walking down the hallway and into her supervisor's office.

"Boss?"

"Take a seat, Villanelle," Carolyn Martens mutters, striding swiftly over to the door and closing it behind her before returning to the seat on the other side of the desk and handing Villanelle a folder.

"I have an assignment for you and this is one you must take. Nobody else can accept it. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"The subject is Dr. Eve Park. Forensic psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer who is currently serving nine consecutive life sentences in a mental institution. You're going to be conducting a series of interviews with her over the next few weeks so she can provide you with information on Buffalo Bill. The entire city is on high alert and the sooner we can catch that asshole, the better. The only person who can help us now is Dr. Park."

"Why her?"

"She's unnervingly intelligent and has provided accurate information in the past that helped me uncover the identity of another serial killer. Unfortunately, she has not wanted to repeat the favor with me this time around so I thought I would introduce you to her, with the hopes of garnering a different result."

"I'll do my best."

"Take the file home with you and make sure you read it cover to cover. Your first interview will be scheduled a week from tomorrow."

Villanelle stands up and nods curtly. As she turns towards the door, Carolyn's voice stops her in her tracks: "Villanelle. Dr. Park has a fascination with beautiful, intelligent women. She knows how to manipulate them and does often. Don't fall for her tricks. Be careful."

"Yes, boss," Villanelle replies, her heartbeat speeding up as she steps out of the office and walks back down the hallway towards her own.

Two hours later...

Location: Villanelle's apartment, located half an hour away from the FBI office

Villanelle finishes a bowl of instant ramen and sets it in the sink. She brings a cup of tea with her into the living room of her small but cosy apartment, and sits down on the couch with the folder given to her by Dr. Martens. When she opens it, her eyes are instantly drawn to the photo of the woman with dark, curly hair, piercing eyes, and face that gives nothing away. Below the photo is scribbled "Dr. Eve Park." 

"This is going to be a long night," Villanelle says as her cat, Niko, nudges her leg with his head before jumping onto the couch and plopping half of his body across her left leg.

Meanwhile, in her cell, Dr. Park hums "Eye of the Tiger" and continues to calmly read her book as the woman in the adjacent cell gnaws at her hand and screams maniacally when the guards come to place her in a straitjacket and haul her away to the isolation room.

A long night indeed...


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Villanelle finds out more about Dr. Park and is reminded of her own horrific childhood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to incorporate 80s music into this fic wherever I can since 80s music is supreme as well as 90s music depending on where I think it will fit. Will also try to throw in Agent Scully somewhere in the upcoming chapters because X-Files lives in my head rent-free.
> 
> First up, Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes. Villanelle listens to this when she goes for her run.
> 
> Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPOIS5taqA8
> 
> Lyrics:  
> Her hair is Harlow gold  
> Her lips are sweet surprise  
> Her hands are never cold  
> She's got Bette Davis eyes
> 
> She'll turn the music on you  
> You won't have to think twice  
> She's pure as New York snow  
> She got Bette Davis eyes
> 
> And she'll tease you, she'll unease you  
> All the better just to please you  
> She's precocious, and she knows just what it  
> Takes to make a pro blush  
> She got Greta Garbo's standoff sighs, she's got Bette Davis eyes
> 
> She'll let you take her home  
> It whets her appetite  
> She'll lay you on the throne  
> She got Bette Davis eyes
> 
> She'll take a tumble on you  
> Roll you like you were dice  
> Until you come out blue  
> She's got Bette Davis eyes
> 
> She'll expose you, when she snows you  
> Off your feet with the crumbs, she throws you  
> She's ferocious and she knows just what it  
> Takes to make a pro blush  
> All the boys think she's a spy, she's got Bette Davis eyes

Niko purrs when Villanelle scratches him between his ears. He swats her hand lightly when he wants to move and she responds by hissing at him gently, baring her teeth. 

"Aoowww," Niko grumbles, tumbling gracefully off the couch and onto the hardwood floor. He stalks by the fireplace and plops down beneath an end table, proceeding to groom himself. On top of the table is a photo of Villanelle from her UPenn graduation ceremony. In the photo she is smiling and holding up her diploma. Next to her is her deceased father's only brother, her uncle Konstantin, the Publisher and Editor-In-Chief at Pittsburgh-Post Gazette, his usually stern features softened by a smile.

Villanelle sighs and walks into the kitchen to turn on the coffee machine. Ten minutes later, cup of coffee in hand, she returns to her spot on the couch and resumes reading. Her brow furrowed, the knot in her stomach tightens as she learns about Eve's childhood from a former psychiatrist's handwritten report.

"Dr. Eve Park was born in New Haven, Connecticut to two incredibly intelligent and well-liked tenured professors at Yale University. Her mother was a well-known speech pathologist and her father was head of the psychology department. From a young age, Dr. Park's intellectual abilities were discovered as well as her gift for learning languages. By the time she was ten years old, she could speak German, English, and Italian and was also well-versed in Latin. That same year, tragedy struck. One of Connecticut's most notorious serial killers, the Tidal River Killer, broke into the Park residence and brutally attacked her parents. Her mother was raped and her father was forced to watch. After the rape, the killer cut off her mother's tongue and forced her father to eat it. Eve was hiding in the closet of her parents room, having been pushed in there by her mother who heard Mr. Park screaming from downstairs after the intruder entered the house and chased him to the second floor. Eve witnessed everything. After the intruder left, she ran to the house of a next door neighbor who contacted the police immediately."

Villanelle closes her eyes and shudders, both her mind and heart reacting to the abhorrent violence and untimely murders Eve was exposed to as a child. 

"That would fuck anybody up, huh, Niko?," Villanelle returns Niko's pointed stare, his grooming session paused with the interruption of Villanelle's voice, before returning to the document in front of her.

"Eve was adopted by her father's brother, a prominent psychiatrist, and excelled under his tutelage. Despite the tragedy she experienced, she continued to excel in her studies under her uncle's strict guidance and she became a forensics psychiatrist at the age of thirty. She began hosting dinner parties alongside her uncle and soon became a household name within the community. She disappeared for awhile after her uncle died from a sudden heart attack but when she returned, she was at the top of her game. She began to assist local detective Will Graham with serial killer cases, due to her expertise and experience. When area rapists began to disappear and later be found dead, Dr. Park consulted on those cases too, commenting on the killer's trademark removal of the tongue. After Graham discovered Dr. Park was responsible for torturing and killing the rapists, Dr. Park was convicted of multiple homicides and remanded to the Pittsburgh Hospital for the Criminally Insane without eligibility for parole."

"FUCK!," Villanelle screams, banging her palm against the coffee table. She throws the file on its surface and lies down on the couch, closing her eyes and seeing visions of Eve before falling into a fitful sleep.

Villanelle dreams she is back in the Russian orphanage her mother's brother dumped her at. She is trying to sneak a piece of bread from the table and give it to her friend, Anna, who keeps complaining about being hungry, when she is caught. The head of the orphanage gives her one hundred lashes on her back as punishment and Anna ends up dying two days later from starvation and neglect. Before the dream ends, an unknown voice emerges, "We are the same, you and I." The chilling voice causes Villanelle to wake up gasping and clutching her chest.

Niko grumbles as he walks up and down her legs, silently protesting his late breakfast, and Villanelle almost falls off the couch in her haste to check the time: 5:11 am. Her entire body is covered in sweat from the nightmare and there are tears pooling at the corners of her eyes. After apologizing to Niko and quickly feeding him and replacing the water in his bowl, Villanelle brushes her teeth and changes into sweats.

One hour later, she returns home from her four mile run and slips into the bathroom after turning on the coffee machine and eating a bowl of oatmeal. She undresses, discarding her clothes on the bathroom rug. As she turns to step into the tub, the marks on her back glint in the mirror, reminding her of her dream and the real nightmare she endured, the scars serving as a cruel reminder of her own horrific childhood.

The unknown voice from her dream rings out in her head again, "We are the same, you and I." When Villanelle hears the voice this time, her head bowed beneath the running water, the thrill that runs through her isn't one of fear. It's one of excitement.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Villanelle has a conversation with her uncle Konstantin who tells her to forego the Park assignment based on his professional knowledge of her murders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize these chapters are incredibly short, but I'm hoping to create an aura of suspense;)
> 
> I'm going to add more backstory to the characters as the story progresses.

Villanelle calls Konstantin when she gets into her car. She is dressed in black pants, black shoes, and a collared navy FBI Academy shirt. Her blonde hair is tied back in a ponytail and her personal identification badge is clipped to her shirt.

"I haven't heard from you for two days. What is going on with you?," Konstantin says, a note of exasperation in his voice.

"I was given a new assignment by the boss."

"What has Carolyn asked you to do?," Konstantin inquires, gently probing since he knows Carolyn will not disclose anything to him despite their intimate history.

"Interview Dr. Eve Park."

"What?! She wants you to interview The One With No Face? No. You cannot accept. Tell her to give it to someone else."

"Why?"

"She's dangerous, Villanelle. Very calculating, extremely intelligent. Have you seen the images of her crime scenes?"

"Not yet. I'm going into the office to review them today and to pick up some recordings Carolyn left for me."

"Look at those images and then call me. She's one of the most ruthless killers this state has ever seen."

"Didn't she have every reason to be? Do you know what happened to her parents??"

"It does not matter. It should not matter. You cannot let your emotions control you, especially not as an FBI agent. Why did Carolyn ask you to take this assignment??"

"I don't know and I don't care. Konstantin, I appreciate everything you have done for me, I do. But you cannot control my professional career. I want to earn my position in the Academy, not be handed anything just because of your history with my boss."

Konstantin sighs and Villanelle hears a jumble of voices in the background. 

"You have to go, I know. We'll talk later."

"Villanelle?"

"Yes?"

"Be safe."

"I'm not a child. I've been exposed to the depravity of humanity before."

"Yes, and you managed to outrun the demons you faced all those years ago. I just don't want you to get pulled under now."

"I'll be fine."

"For my sake, I hope so."

Konstantin hangs up and storms into his office, slamming the door behind him. He calls his assistant and asks her to pull every news article on Dr. Eve Park before the end of the day. 

Meanwhile, Villanelle walks into her office and heads straight to the coffee machine where Bill is filling up his thermos.

"Heard big boss gave you the Park case?," Bill asks, taking a swig from the tumbler.

"Wow, news travels quickly around here," Villanelle says, grabbing a white mug and filling it up. When she turns her head to look at Bill, she notices other employees staring at her and whispering amongst themselves.

"Look, I know you don't like mansplaining and I also know Dr. Martens doesn't give out difficult cases to just anybody but Park? She's known as The Ghost for a reason. The silent killer. You don't know what it's like to grow up with those stories of murder swirling around. Bodies being found in the woods, tongues removed, penises carved up. My brother and I couldn't go out trick-or-treating once everybody in the neighborhood and across the state got wind of all those disappearances and homicides. Just be..."

"Be careful? I will. Thanks," Villanelle replies curtly, anger coursing through her veins as she steps into her office and closes the door behind her.

"Everyone is labeling you a cold-blooded, calculated psychopath but you're more than that, aren't you?," Villanelle whispers, flipping through the folder of crime scene images placed on top of her computer keyboard.


End file.
